WASHINGTON, D.C. — Brian Brown, the president of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) today congratulated GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney on his victory in the Florida primary.

“NOM congratulates Mitt Romney on his extremely impressive win in Florida." said Brown. "As a major winner-take-all state, this is a significant win for Governor Romney. This also marks the fourth straight state where the winner is a signatory to NOM’s Marriage Pledge. The only candidate who hasn’t signed, Ron Paul, hasn’t won a thing and finished in last place in Florida."

This is Romney’s second state win, having previously won in New Hampshire. Rick Santorum won the Iowa caucuses and Newt Gingrich won in South Carolina. All three of the leading candidates for the GOP nomination have signed NOM's Marriage Pledge, which commits signatories, if elected, to taking specific steps toward preserving the institution of marriage as the union between one man and one woman. Rep. Ron Paul is the only remaining Republican presidential candidate not to have signed the pledge, and he is not considered to have any realistic chance of becoming the Republican nominee.

“Ron Paul and his radical views on marriage were thoroughly repudiated in Florida, where he is barely receiving 7% of the vote,” Brown said.

“Preserving marriage has become an important issue in the race, and Ron Paul is simply wrong on marriage. We will continue to let voters know where the candidates stand on marriage. “

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To schedule an interview with Brian Brown, President of the National Organization for Marriage, please contact Elizabeth Ray (x130) or Anath Hartmann at 703-683-5004.

Gov. Chris Christie has been the hope of millions of Americans across the country looking for honest conservative leadership.

Last week we asked you to thank Gov. Christie for saying he will follow through on his campaign promise to veto same-sex marriage.

This week, we have urgent and terrible news to report—Gov. Chris Christie's nominee to the New Jersey Supreme Court is not only an outspoken advocate for gay marriage, he has extreme and hateful views equating traditional Christian views on sex and marriage with slavery.

This kind of intemperate and extreme view should be totally unacceptable in a GOP judicial nominee.

Yet Gov. Christie's proposed supreme court nominee Bruce Harris sent this email in 2009 to State Senator Joe Pennacchio urging him to vote for gay marriage:

"When I hear someone say that they believe marriage is only between a man and a woman because that's the way it's always been, I think of the many "traditions" that deprived people of their civil rights for centuries: prohibitions on interracial marriage, slavery, (which is even provided for in the Bible), segregation, the subservience of women, to name just a few of these "traditions."

I hope that you consider my request that you re-evaluate your position and, if after viewing the videos, reading Governor Whitman's letter and thinking again about this issue of civil rights you still oppose same-sex marriage on grounds other than religion I would appreciate it if you you'd explain your position to me. And, if the basis of your opposition is religious, then I suggest that you do what the US Constitution mandates—and that is to maintain a separation between the state and religion."

Governor Christie says that Harris has promised to recuse himself when the same-sex marriage comes before the court, but even this unenforceable promise misses the bigger issue: a man who cannot tell the difference between supporting our traditional understanding of marriage and wanting to enslave a people lacks common sense and judicial temperament.

And to suggest that legislators should ignore the views of religious constituents, that moral views grounded in the Bible are somehow illegitimate in the public square, seriously compounds the offense.

These are not the words of a judicial conservative, a man who believes in common sense, strict construction of the state constitution—the kind of judge Gov. Christie promised to appoint to the court.

How did this happen?

When Assemblyman Mike Carroll was sent a copy of that email by a reporter, he had one word in response: "Yikes."

Gov. Christie's nomination of Bruce Harris appears to be a result of a failure in the vetting process, not a deliberate backhanded backroom betrayal by New Jersey's governor. If so, the Governor can and must honorably withdraw the nomination.

The next generation of GOP leadership on the national level have to understand: knowingly appointing radical anti-religious justices is unacceptable.

It is about radically redefining marriage for everyone, whether you like it or not—yes, even in the Sunshine state.

As you read this, there is a bill in the United States Senate, advanced by Senator Diane Feinstein of California, to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). DOMA is the only federal law protecting Florida's 2008 state constitutional amendment from outside legal challenges.

This is the same-sex marriage lobby's preferred strategy. They don't want to let the people vote. They're reluctant to trust legislators, who can be influenced by their constituents.

They want a single person, or a small panel of people, to decide for you what is "equitable" and what you are allowed to believe without repercussion.

We cannot allow this to happen.

That is why defending DOMA at the federal level and assisting with the various federal lawsuits that will make their way up to the Supreme Court in 2012 is a prominent part of NOM's strategic battle plan to protect marriage—and why it is critical for you, as a resident of Florida, to get engaged in the fight.

Anything you can afford to donate is important, because with so many fights all over America, our resources will be stretched thin all year.

Today is the primary in Florida, a key stage in the race for the White House. Congress is up for grabs, we're waging a legislative battle in Washington, D.C. to stop DOMA from being repealed, and we have legal cases going all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

And on top of all that, we're also fighting in a dozen other states:

Working to repeal same-sex marriage laws in Iowa, New Hampshire, and New York (in fact, there will be a vote very soon in the New Hampshire legislature to restore traditional marriage!);

Protecting marriage in states where it is under fire (Rhode Island, Washington, New Jersey, Maryland);

My sincere thanks to each of you who have risen to the challenge over the past two weeks—taking action to defend marriage in the Garden State. Marriage, as you know, hangs in the balance, and your action is helping to make the difference. Thank you!

And that's I'm writing to you today. As you know, the National Organization for Marriage fights to protect marriage in all 50 states.

But New Jersey is on the front lines and of critical importance in the fight to defend marriage.

When the New Jersey state Senate tried to force through a same-sex marriage bill in a lame-duck session at the end of 2009, NOM spent $500,000 organizing grassroots opposition to the bill and, to the utter shock of the mainstream media, defeated it in a 14-20 vote.

This year, same-sex radicals are back to their same old tricks, pushing harder than ever. Last Wednesday, on an 8-4 party line vote, Senate Democrats passed a new same-sex marriage bill out of committee. And just last night, the Assembly Judiciary Committee did the same, passing the measure on a 5-2 party line vote and setting the stage for a showdown with Governor Christie later this month.

We MUST stop this bill in its tracks!

New Jersey is a prominent part of NOM's 2012 strategic battle plan to protect marriage, and I need your help today.

And the dirty little secret? Same-sex marriage advocates will do anything possible to prevent the people of New Jersey from ever having the chance to vote on marriage.

As pro-SSM Democratic Assemblyman Reed Gusciora from Trenton admits, "It's a hard dynamic to win at the polls." Why? Because they know they lose every time. Or in Gusciora's own ad hominem attack, same-sex marriage advocates, "can't match the crazies who are out there..." And yes—he's talking about you and me.

You and I are NOT crazy for believing that marriage is the union of a man and a woman because children need a mother and a father. But the same-sex marriage lobby has been pouring millions of dollars into New Jersey to convince you precisely that gay marriage in inevitable and you are insane for opposing it.

Do NOT believe their lies!

Same-sex marriage is NOT inevitable—we can stop same-sex marriage from coming to New Jersey. We did it before, and we can do it again!

The race for the White House is well underway, Congress is up for grabs, we're waging a legislative battle in Washington to stop DOMA from being repealed, and we have legal cases going all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

And beyond working to defend marriage in New Jersey (and in Rhode Island, Washington and Maryland where it is similarly under fire), NOM is working to repeal same-sex marriage in New York, Iowa and New Hampshire and pro-actively pushing pro-marriage legislation in various states like Minnesota.

Anything you can afford to donate is important, because with so many fights all over America, our resources will be stretched thin all year.

In the past few weeks, threats to marriage and religious liberty have also popped up in Virginia and Illinois, and we may need additional funds to fight in those large states as well.

The bottom line: 2012 will either be the year when traditional marriage makes a comeback...

...or it will be the year when the same-sex marriage lobbyists knock the doors down and begin their assault on marriage in all 50 states.

As always, the success of our campaign depends on you, marriage supporter.

The battle to preserve one man-one woman marriage is Maryland is heating up this week!

New legislation, backed by Governor O'Malley, to undo the time-honored and common sense definition of marriage will be heard in the State Senate this week.

We need you to take ACTION immediately to have your voice be heard if we are to stop gay marriage in Maryland again this year, just as we did last year.

FIRST—We need you to call your State Senators and let them know that we will not stand for this. Please visit our local coalition website at www.MarylandMarriageAlliance.com and click on the TAKE ACTION button. There, you can input your address and it will tell you who your State Senator is. Then you can send them an email, call them, and make sure your voice is heard.

Please act now as we need every Senator in Maryland to hear the loud, clear voice from their constituents that we will not stand for this!

SECOND—Don't be intimidated! Did you see the comments the other day from the First Lady of Maryland, the Governor's wife, calling opponents of the radical attempt to redefine marriage "cowards"? This is so typical of our opponents, always attempting to bully and cower the good people who support marriage into silence. How is it cowardly to speak your mind? How is it cowardly to stand up for the right of children to be raised by a mom and dad? Yet the Governor's own wife called you, and the pastors and legislators who supported the position of the majority of Marylanders, cowards. This is another desperate attempt by the other side to win by intimidation. Don't let it keep you on the sidelines!

THIRD—We need your continued active involvement. After you call your Senator, stay involved. Sign up for email alerts. Click through the Action Center on the website and help in other ways. And if you can afford any funds in these tough times, it will help us contact your neighbors who also support our position and ensure they join our team as well. Please click here—www.marylandmarriagealliance.com/donate—and share your generous support today.

FINALLY—Continue to be confident. Momentum is on our side. Last night at Lawyers' Mall next to the State Capitol, thousands of marriage supporters joined in a rally and prayer vigil to protect marriage and send a clear message to the General Assembly that we will not stand for their efforts to redefine marriage. Perhaps you were there. But even if you were not, we know you were there in spirit. By continuing to be involved, we can and will win this fight.

Please, now is the time to wake up again and fight to defend marriage in Maryland. Take action now, before it's too late.

Excellent news from the Minnesota for Marriage coalition which is pushing for the marriage amendment this November:

Today, Minnesota for Marriage (MFM,) a broad-based coalition of groups working to pass the Minnesota Marriage Protection Amendment in November, disclosed it raised $830,000 in cash donations. Additionally, the MFM coalition today reported they have recruited over 10,000 volunteers in 2011.

“We are very pleased with our fundraising and recruiting efforts to date,” said John Helmberger, Minnesota for Marriage Chairman. “We have demonstrated substantial and broad-based support for preserving marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Not only have we generated a great deal of financial support for the campaign, we have generated incredible, broad-based citizen support by recruiting over 10,000 volunteers for our campaign. We’re off to a great start.”

... “We have always expected to be outspent by our opponents,” Helmberger said. “This has been the case in most of the recent state marriage campaigns including in California and Maine. Our objective is to make sure we raise enough money to communicate our messages, and we’re certainly on track to do that. We’re in a good position going forward and have built a solid foundation of financial and organizational support.”

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie lashed out at a fellow Garden State politician Monday, calling an openly gay state legislator a “numbnuts” in response to the lawmaker labeling him a racist last week.

A visibly perturbed Christie made the comment during a news conference on Monday, reported the New Jersey Star-Ledger.

It all started last week when Christie called for a voter referendum on gay marriage.

“I think people would have been happy to have a referendum on civil rights rather than fighting and dying in the streets in the South,” Christie said.

Those comments upset Democratic assemblyman Reed Gusciora, who responded last week by saying, “Govs. Lester Maddox and George Wallace would have found allies in Chris Christie over efforts by the Justice Department to end segregation in the South.”

As you know, the National Organization for Marriage fights to protect marriage in all 50 states.

But Iowa is one of the states on the front lines and of critical importance—more so than most others.

When a panel of 7 judges imposed same-sex marriage on the Hawkeye state on April 3, 2009, same-sex marriage activists immediately focused on your state, pouring millions of dollars into the state to protect gay marriage in Iowa. And their most devastating weapon? Convincing ordinary people like your neighbors and coworkers that the fight is over and there's no going back.

But you and I know better.

Iowa is a key part of NOM's 2012 strategic battle plan to protect marriage—and that's why I am writing you today. This November, we have an opportunity to break through the logjam Senate President Mike Gronstal has single-handedly created, refusing to even allow a vote on the constitutional amendment to protect marriage.

The race for the White House is well underway, Congress is up for grabs, we're waging a legislative battle in Washington to stop DOMA from being repealed, and we have legal cases going all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

And beyond working to change the same-sex marriage regime in Iowa (and repealing the laws in New Hampshire and New York), we're also fighting in a dozen other states, protecting marriage in states where it is under fire (Rhode Island, Washington, New Jersey, Maryland, etc.) and proactively pushing pro-marriage legislation that will ensure what happened in Iowa isn't repeated in states like Minnesota.

Anything you can afford to donate is important, because with so many fights all over America, our resources will be stretched thin all year.

In the past few weeks, threats to marriage and religious liberty have also popped up in Virginia and Illinois, and we may need additional funds to fight in those large states as well.

The bottom line: 2012 will either be the year when traditional marriage makes a comeback...

...or it will be the year when the same-sex marriage lobbyists knock the doors down and begin their assault on marriage in all 50 states.

As always, the success of our campaign depends on you, marriage supporter.

Together we shocked the world in 2010, ousting three Supreme Court justices who forced their own personal views on the people of Iowa. And we can do it again!

Begin making plans now to join us at the LUV (Let Us Vote!) Iowa rally in Des Moines on March 20th at the Capitol.

A measure to legalize same-sex marriage in Washington state was approved Monday by a House committee, and the Senate is expected to vote on its companion bill within days.

Sen. Ed Murray, a Seattle Democrat who is sponsoring one of the bills, said Monday that he expects a floor vote on gay marriage in the Senate on Wednesday. A Senate committee voted to approve Murray's bill Friday.

The House Judiciary committee approved its companion gay marriage bill on Monday on a 7-6 party line vote.

Three Republican amendments were rejected, including on one that would have added private businesses and individuals, such as bakers and photographers, to the religious exemption in the bill that doesn't require religious organizations or churches to perform marriages, and doesn't subject them to penalties if they don't marry gay or lesbian couples.

Opponents of same-sex marriage have already promised a referendum battle at the ballot if the Legislature passes the bill and it's signed into law.

The number of French parliamentarians that have added their names to a list of those opposing homosexual “marriage” and adoption has now reached 115, according to the French magazine Liberation.

The petition was begun in response to a new initiative by French socialists, who are promising voters to institute homosexual “marriage” if they are chosen in the upcoming presidential elections.

The parliamentarians in opposition come from the three political parties that make up the coalition supporting President Nicolas Sarkozy: the Union for a Popular Movement, the New Center, and the Movement for France.

The declaration favors “the defense of the fundamental right of a child the be cared for and to develop within a family composed of a father and a mother.”

Gay rights advocates in New Jersey have been pushing for a decade to get state courts or lawmakers to recognize same-sex marriage. But last week, they demurred when Gov. Christie called for a public vote to settle the topic.

Their main reason is based on principle: It's not fair, they say, to let voters decide a civil rights issue.

But there's another consideration: It would be a costly and divisive fight, and the advocates know the odds are against them, even if recent polls have shown the majority of New Jersey voters support allowing gay marriage.

...Brian Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage, said his organization and others would put millions of dollars into a campaign against allowing gay marriage.

"The other side has put forward a number of lies," Brown said. "Our job is to expose them."

So far, his side has been winning.

Thirty-one times states have had votes on constitutional amendments to define marriage as being between a man and a woman. The referendums have been approved 30 times. In the one exception, in Arizona, voters two years later passed a similar amendment.

This year, marriage amendments could be on the ballots of about a half-dozen states. Only two are being pushed by groups that want gay couples to be allowed to marry. Those are in Maine and California, where there are efforts to overturn constitutional bans.

...What this bill says is that if a church rents out its facilities for non-members to use for weddings, then it will be forced to allow a same-sex couple to use its facilities for a same-sex “marriage” ceremony. Many, if not most churches, will rent their facilities to members of the public who want to use the church building to get married. Most churches will generally ensure that the people who are using the facilities are not going to use them in a way that is inconsistent with the church’s religious faith and mission. But the State of Washington is considering forcing churches to open their sanctuaries to same-sex “wedding” ceremonies.

... All of this might sound surprising and troubling – and it is. But for those who understand the inherent and unavoidable conflict between the radical homosexual agenda and religious freedom, the Washington Legislature’s bill and the New Jersey church case are simply sad reminders that we face a culture and a society increasingly willing to trample religious freedom in the name of sexual liberty.

... It’s not too late to stop this radical attack on religious freedom. As one court put it, the freedom of religion contained in the First Amendment is our “first freedom.” The Washington State Legislators in favor of SB 6239 need to be reminded of this fact by a vocal populace that is tired of having sexual liberty foisted on society at the expense of religious freedom. Speak Up now before it is too late. And stand with ADF as we fight these battles in New Jersey and elsewhere.

Proponents of legislation are claiming they have enough votes for passage in the Senate, although Joseph Backholm of the Family Policy Institute of Washington says no date has been set for consideration.

"At the same time, even if it were to pass there's a very high probability that it will ultimately go to a vote," explains Backholm. "Either the legislature will refer it to the public or we will just collect enough signatures on our side to put it on the ballot in November -- so it's far from a done deal legislatively or otherwise."

More importantly, the institute's spokesman says the strategy now is to generate a strong grassroots support to kill the bill.

"We're fond of saying around here that they really don't care what you think until they know that you can take their job away," he says. "Basically we need people who understand why this is not good for us to communicate to their legislators, to let them know that they're paying attention and this is an issue that matters to them."

... It will bog down the legislative agenda unnecessarily when we have serious issues to address in our state.

We can't afford it. Marriage "fairness" is nothing more than agitating for benefits that the institution of marriage encourages.

Same-sex marriage has been defeated by the people in every state where the issue has gone to the ballot box, and passing the bill will undoubtedly awaken a sleeping giant — the people of Maryland.

The only reason New York allowed same sex marriage is because a few elected officials were turned with money. In Iowa, where liberal judges overturned the people's will to grant same sex marriage, they were promptly voted out of office.

The Maryland Court of Appeals ruled against redefining marriage in 2004, and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller has come out opposing the issue in a year when the governor, the leader of his political party, says it is his signature issue.

Redefining marriage would create untold consequences to hundreds of other laws that depend on marriage status.

Legislators might have more success advocating benefits for civil unions instead. Societies everywhere reject same sex marriage. How are we so smart to overrule what people everywhere else know?

...Mike Dennehy, the New Hampshire lobbyist for the National Organization for Marriage, delivered an anti-same-sex-marriage treatise to Republican State Chairman Wayne MacDonald last week.

Dennehy is a senior GOP strategist who helped build John McCain’s New Hampshire presidential primary victories in 2000 and 2008.

“The 2012 elections provide plenty of opportunities but many pitfalls, as well,’’ Dennehy said in a memo obtained by The Sunday Telegraph.

“In the 20 years I’ve been running campaigns at every level, I can tell you that this year, more than any other, will hinge on the party who best motivates their base and gets them to the polls on Election Day.

“We have one issue this year that will motivate social and cultural conservatives to go to the polls for Republican candidates – traditional marriage.’’
Kellyanne Conway, of The Polling Co., did a survey late last fall that found 71 percent of Republicans oppose same-sex marriage laws.